Nick's Story
by SouthernSuperman
Summary: The story of Nick, as told by Southern Superman.
1. Chapter 1

_Nick's POV_

"Hey, kid."

I ignored the voice and continued walking.

"Hey, _kid._"

I rolled my eyes and continued.

"I suggest you turn around."

This voice was different.

I stopped and turned to see two men - one was quite small, blonde hair and wearing a green button-down with black slacks. The other was almost the opposite, rather tall and large, black hair, wearing a black suit coat and slacks.

"Can I help you?"

"What's ya name, kid?"

"Nicolas."

"Nicolas, eh? You look a little, uh, lonely, Nicolas."

I shrugged.

"You in need of some cash, there, kid?" the bigger one raised his eyebrows at me.

I shrugged, again, this time a bit slower. I was pretty low on funds, being a twenty-year-old out on his own with barely a place to live.

"Why don't you come meet a friend of ours? See if we can help you out a bit, hm?" the smaller one grinned.

"What'cha say, Nicolas?" the bigger man smiled as well.

I sighed. "What the hell." and headed after them.

We walked down a few alleyways, across a couple streets, until finally they led me into an old pool hall.

It was clearly out of business, but still contained a bar and a few billiard tables.

"Hey! There's my favorite guys!" exclaimed a scruffy man, almost as big as the guy I'd met outside earlier.

"Who might this gentleman be?" still smiling, he narrowed his eyes at me and took a drag on his cigar.

The blonde man nudged me forward.

"I'm Nicolas."

"Nicolas." he repeated looking down at me.

He blew out a puff of smoke. "What can you do for me Nicolas?"

I had no idea who these people were or what they wanted, but I was Boston-made, and therefore, I knew how to play it smart.

"Anything you need, Sir."

He smirked, eyes still narrow.

"That's what I wanna hear, Nicolas."

I came to learn that the man with the cigar was the boss, and he was referred to as 'Big'.

I also learned that I was a new recruit of sorts, chosen due to the fact that I was young, alone, and in need of some cash.

"Here's how it goes, Nicolas. Can I call you Nick?"

I shrugged. "Sure."

Big nodded. "Good. Anyway, I run a very strict business here. You see, I have a number of clients, as any good business would, and those clients pay good money for whatever they need me to do. Now, I'm a very flexible guy with very flexible.. _employees_. If someone's in need of a little, uh, _medication_," he raised his eyebrows and I nodded, understanding what he meant. "We can get that for them for a small fee. Someone's got a problem with someone, maybe they're in a bit of a dilemma with 'em, we can take care of that, also for a little dinero. You understandin' where I'm goin', Nick? 'Cause it's kinda too late to turn around now."

I nodded.

He smiled again and blew off his cigar. "Good, good. Now, what do ya say I give you a little cash, and you head down to the men's store and get'cha somethin' nice to walk around in, eh?"

We both looked down at my black hooded jacket and jeans I was wearing.

He winked at me and laughed, heartily and gruffly.

When I entered the men's store, I had only a little idea of what I was doing. I needed clothes, that was the main and obvious objective. Something nice, something to fit in with the other guys.

"Can I help you, sir?" a kind-looking blonde asked me.

"Yes, ma'am, I, uh.. I'm in need of a suit."

She smiled and tried to hide a laugh. "Certainly, sir. What kind of suit did you have in mind?"

I frowned to myself a bit, not sure what to say.

Apparently she noticed this, and asked, "Or shall I take you to be fitted and have someone show you some ideas?"

I smiled and nodded. "That'd be great."

I had always thought of myself as good-looking; dark brown slicked back hair, ice blue eyes, a bit on the muscular side. However, as I stared at my suit-clad reflection in the floor-length mirror, I was a million bucks.

Walking out of the store, I had a new confidence in my white dress shirt and black suit. I trashed my old clothes and made my way back to the old pool hall, ready to take on whatever life gave me next.

Hell, if it was as good as a new suit, I was more than ready.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up the next morning to a sharp pain in my back, and the smell of cigarettes.

Coming to, I remembered I had crashed on a couch in the back room of the pool hall.

I sat up slowly stretching out my aching muscles, wincing with every move.

"Hey."

I turned to see a guy about my age standing across the room by a window, cigarette between his fingers.

"Hey." I nodded at him.

I got up and slipped my coat back on, hiding a smile at the good feeling it still gave me.

"Smoke?" he held out a carton of cigs towards me.

I slipped one out. "Thanks, light?"

He nodded and stuck his cigarette between his lips as he dug in his pocket for a lighter.

"Thanks." I said again, as he lit me up.

"Name's Ryan." he stuck out a hand.

"Nick." we shook quickly.

I looked him over and noticed he was still in jeans and a jacket, like I had been the day before.

"You new?"

"Yeah." he blew out a smoke cloud.

I nodded slowly.

"Guess I stick out seeing as I don't fit in with the rest of ya."

I chuckled, blowing smoke out my nose. "Don't worry about that."

"Hey.. Ryan!" We jumped a bit as blondie's voice came from the other room.

We looked at each other and he left with a shrug.

I stared out the open window.

Outside, there were people walking around, the occasional car here and there, but mostly just quiet, empty space, falling victim to my clouds of smoke.

Quiet.

Quiet enough for me to think.

_What am I doing here? What are you getting yourself into, Nick?_

Nick.

My dad had always called me Nicky, but it was a name I now despised almost as much as I did him. Until a number of hours ago, I was Nicolas. My sister Samantha occasionally would call me Nick, but it never really caught on until Big stuck it to me.

Now, I kinda liked it.

Nick.

It fit my new style.

_But is it the right type of style, Nick? The right type of lifestyle?_

I frowned at my thoughts, and shook them out before they could get the best of me.

"Hey, Nick." Ryan was standing in the doorway motioning for me to come out.

I nodded, but found my focus locked on the window.

"Hello?" He whistled.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." I took one last drag then dropped the cigarette to the ground and stomped it out.

"There he is!" Big greeted me, throwing his arms up as I walked into the room. "I take it you met Ryan already?"

Ryan and I both nodded.

"Good. Great. You're gonna be, eh.. takin' care of Ryan, yeah?"

My eyebrows raised themselves casually.

"Don't worry, it ain't like babysittin' or nothin'. We just use, uh, the buddy system around here. Take Chris and Shawn for example." He motioned to the blonde guy and his larger companion.

"You and Ryan, eh.. think of yourselves as brothers now." Big grinned and Ryan and I threw each other a quick glance.

"So, uh, Nick."

"Yeah?" I leaned back on a bench in the back of the men's store waiting for Ryan to finish trying on all the suits.

"Where'd they find you at, anyway?"

I shrugged even though I knew he couldn't see me.

"I was just out, walkin', and they just came up to me."

"Yeah?" Ryan opened the door and came out in a suit similar to mine, but instead of black, his was a dark blue. "What d'ya think?" He grinned holding up his arms, and I simply rolled my eyes and laughed a bit.

This was gonna be an interesting "relationship", I could tell.

Nick and Ryan, con-brothers extraordinaire.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Eight years later…**_

"That's a fancy suit you got yourself there, eh, Nicky?" Sean raised an eyebrow at me with a grin.

I smirked.

I was proud of my new white suit.

It was white, and I paired it with a grey dress shirt for now.

It was quite fancy.

And it was something I had bought myself with my own money.

I ran my fingers through my hair and leaned my head back, but just as I closed my eyes, Big came in.

"Pack up, boys! You're goin' to Vegas!"

I groaned internally, raising my head to see who he meant.

"Who ya talkin' 'bout?" Ryan, who was sitting to my right, asked for me.

"You!" Big threw his arms towards Ryan. "And Nick!"

My eyebrows shot up, as this caught my attention.

"Vegas?"

"Yes, Vegas! You leave in an hour!"

As we walked back to our room to fill a duffle bag each of what items we did have (which were mostly clothing), Ryan seemed quite thrilled about the trip we would soon take.

_Boston to Vegas.. Huh._

Big had a cab called to drive Ryan and I to the airport, and as we boarded the plane, I pulled an Indy Jones and shut my eyes, hoping it would all be over soon.

* * *

"Hey. Nick."

I groaned at the sharp pain in my now stiff neck and opened my eyes to see Ryan nudging me awake.

We had arrived.

Vegas.

We got off the plane and got our stuff unpacked in the hotel.

We had made good timing, at least arrival time, that is.

It was only seven twenty-seven there, making it already ten twenty-seven back home in Boston.

"Hey," Ryan said. "I know a great bar not too far from here; let's hit it up, man!"

I shrugged. "Okay."

_Why not? At least Ryan is excited about our only "day-off" while we're here. A drink could do the nerves some good._

About 10 minutes after we sat down for a drink, Ryan got pulled away by some girls - a blonde and a brunette, who clearly worked there.

Uninterested in prostitutes, no matter how cheap or classy, I ignored the fact that I was one of, if not the last person at the bar, and signaled the bartender for another drink.

He refilled me politely, and then I was, to some extent, alone once more.

A few minutes passed as I sipped on my drink, and then I heard a voice, distinct from all the others.

"Excuse me."

I turned to see a small blonde in an apron wiping down the bar.

"If you're not too drunk, would you mind raising up your glass for me?"

She didn't make eye contact with me as her rag neared me and my alcohol, and I frowned.

"I didn't know you had to get drunk every time you came to a bar. Bit stereotypical, isn't it, Caroline?" I raised my eyebrows as I read her name tag, and smirked when I saw I had caught her attention.

"I'm sorry?"

"You assumed I was drunk, when I'm indeed quite sober." I smiled.

She raised her eyebrows and then narrowed them once more as she smiled. "Well, my apolgies for.. stereotyping you.. uh.."

"Nick." I grinned.

"Nick," she nodded slowly.

For the next couple days, when I wasn't off on business with Ryan, I would stop by the bar to talk to Caroline, if I had the chance.

Over the span of the next couple weeks, this became a regular and (almost) everyday occurrence.

For some reason, I was starting to really like this girl.

_What are you getting yourself into, here, Nick..?_


End file.
